Westonbirt Unseen: a sensory immersion in the pleasures and treasures of the arboretum

Westonbirt has launched a new initiative this Autumn, called ‘Westonbirt Unseen’. This is part of a collaborative project between the arboretum, Andy Shipley of Natural Inclusion, and Sarah Bell of Sensing Nature and the University of Exeter. 

The project team have been working together over the last few months to involve new blind and partially sighted volunteers as guides. 

The Visually Impaired Guides will be taking participants on a sensory journey of the arboretum to discover the rich scents, sounds, textures and other sensations to be discovered amidst Westonbirt’s unique treescape. 

Andy Shipley said, “As a visually impaired nature connection practitioner, I am interested in how greater use of our non-visual senses can affect the way that people experience the natural world. With this project, we aim to shift perceptions about the experiences of visually impaired people and demonstrate that there is much to be gained from exploring nature through another perspective”.

Two sensory walks a week are available with our new VI guides throughout the autumn, where visitors will be immersed in the sensory delights of their surroundings. 

Coming soon; in another strand of the project, contemporary artist Zoe Partington is working with six fantastic Art Shape artists, who are ‘re-storying’ Westonbirt’s landscape through their own experiences. Their work will culminate in a Spring ‘Fragile with Attitude’ exhibition on site. 

Zoe Partington explained, “In an ableist world, disabled people are often overlooked or marginalised into certain categories that can be disempowering. Our exhibition, ‘Fragile with attitude’, is about the stories and lives that are often misrepresented within our society. Westonbirt Arboretum provides a space for framing new perspectives of a ‘fragility’ in nature that impacts on us all”. 

Through this project, Westonbirt is spearheading new creative and collaborative approaches to visitor experience and social inclusion, demonstrating how and why nature is for everyone.

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is managed by Forestry England and is renowned worldwide for its tree and shrub collection. Home to five national collections, the arboretum covers 243 hectares (600 acres) and contains nearly 15,000 labelled specimens. Visitor numbers are 500,000 a year, with a membership of over 32,000. Westonbirt Arboretum was established in the 1850s by wealthy landowner Robert Holford and later developed by his son George Holford. Unlike many arboreta, Westonbirt is laid out according to aesthetic appeal rather than scientific or geographical criteria. Visit www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt

Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 230 million visits per year. As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and are enhancing forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. For more information visit forestryengland.uk. Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.